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Sheriff says sister won’t work as an appraiser regardless of ruling

‘It’s making look like we are corrupt, and we’re not.’

Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer (foreground) and Chief Deputy Mike Nolan spoke to the Dayton Daily News editorial board Wednesday, Jan. 13. Plummer has come under fire for his foreclosure sale appraisal practices.

Staff photo by Lisa Powell Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer (foreground) and Chief Deputy Mike Nolan spoke to the Dayton Daily News editorial board Wednesday, Jan. 13. Plummer has come under fire for his foreclosure sale appraisal practices.

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'I made a mistake’ sheriff says; sister will not return to appraiser job

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By Lynn Hulsey, Staff Writer Updated 10:59 PM Wednesday, January 13, 2010

DAYTON — Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer said he had no influence on the decision by his former boss to hire his sister as a property appraiser in 2005.

Plummer said former Sheriff David Vore hired Kimberly Solomon for the job and told Plummer it would be OK for her to remain working for the office when Plummer took over in 2008.

“She applied for the job. I did not influence Sheriff Vore for her to get that position,” said Plummer, who was chief deputy for Vore at the time Solomon was hired.

Plummer was Vore’s hand-picked successor when Vore retired in mid-2008 and Plummer took over.

“It was not my intent to hire family members. She was there and I thought she was, you know, grandfathered,” said Plummer. “Does it stink looking from the outside? If I was a taxpayer, I’d be upset. But I’d be more upset if I hired her.”

He suspended Solomon from the job on Friday, Jan. 8, pending an Ohio Ethics Commission review, and on Wednesday said he would not allow her to return regardless of how the commission rules.

“This is so upsetting that this is the big story of the town and it’s making us look like we are corrupt, and we’re not,” Plummer said. “This was a mistake ... There was no intent by me to violate the ethics laws.”

Vore and Solomon could not be reached for comment.

The property appraisers are hired to appraise foreclosed properties destined for sheriff’s sale. They are not county employees and are paid with fees paid by the attorneys for banks and mortgage companies filing foreclosure actions.

Ohio law gives sheriffs wide latitude in who they hire and requires no qualifications other than that the appraisers be “disinterested freeholders” and residents of the county. The practice has become increasingly controversial in recent years, with allegations of political patronage and dismay over the amount of money the appraisers earn as foreclosures hit record levels.

Plummer said he supports changing the law, which dates to 1953, including standardizing hiring and requiring more training.

“This need changed. It appears it’s political jobs,” said Plummer, a Republican. “In my case it’s not.”

All of the appraisers working for Plummer have connections to him, his office — as retired employees — or his political party. He has hired two since he took office and all but the two appraisers he phased out last year earned six-figure payments. The highest paid appraiser earned $151,456.

Chief deputy: Appraisers spend 3 to 5 hours on a job

Chief Deputy Mike Nolan estimates that the appraisers spend three to five hours on a job, although Plummer said some have said they can do it in 90 minutes to two hours.

Despite the number of work hours that would mean for the appraisers, who typically handled about 1,400 to 1,600 cases year, Plummer said he believes they are doing a thorough, accurate job.

“There have been no complaints from the banks, the attorneys, no one. So their work product has never been questioned to my knowledge,” Plummer said.

Judges will study why pay to appraisers increased

Also on Wednesday, Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Administrative Judge Barbara P. Gorman, said a court committee will study the minimum fees paid to the appraisers. The court is examining how the appraisers came to be paid $85 per property when the court in 1996 set the amount at $60. The court, clerk of courts and sheriff’s offices are searching records to determine who authorized the higher payments but none have been found.

Gorman said the study will look at rates set by courts in other counties and she expects the judges will issue a new local rule setting the rate here within a month.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7455 or lhulsey@Dayton DailyNews.com.

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